Two Intersecting Ideas
by Queenyyy
Summary: Let's talk about two intersecting ideas, both clearly shown within the movie's narrative, but both not explored. The first? Little Zoe Lawton. And the second? Harley Quinn's deepest desire. (Rated M for violence, child abuse, suggestions of Stockholm syndrome ... this isn't a happy story)


Let's talk about two intersecting ideas, both clearly shown within the movie's narrative, but both not explored. The first? Little Zoe Lawton. And the second? Harley Quinn's deepest desire.

Little Zoe Lawton, what do we know about her? A gifted student. Parents who no longer live together, perhaps aren't married, or never were. Her father wants her to live with him. Is this because he dislikes her mother? Because he feels Gotham is not safe? Or simply because he would feel safer knowing where she is and being in control of her safety? But if that were the case, if it was a safety issue and not a mother issue wouldn't he have been able to reach into the bank account of Deadshot and provide a way out? Who would want to raise their child in Gotham? City of despair and criminals. Home to Batman, the mafia and the Rogues (and isn't that a terrifying thought? To have any relative, let alone a child, near Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze, or the Joker).

So then, perhaps, it is a custody issue, Zoe's mother - who isn't named, isn't that interesting? - holds primary custody over her daughter, and continues to live in Gotham. She clearly is not on the brink of poverty, their daughter wears nice winter clothes when she meets her father for christmas shopping, and does not react overtly towards his gifts. Zoe is in Gotham Academy, one of the more prestigious schools in Gotham, where children of billionaires go (she may even have Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon in a class or two. Or perhaps they are upper-years, both so very different from the students around them, dealing with their own traumas and losses that some understand, but few know of). But I digress, if she hasn't left, then why would she stay? Why would she allow her daughter to live in a city full of criminals? The most dangerous city in the United States of America. A higher crime rate than some third world countries. Certainly less job opportunities for a single mother who would have to monitor her daughter's passage to and from school, as most parents do (another reason Floyd wants his daughter with him). There's an obvious answer to this, and whether it is true or not it certainly adds to the depth of the tale. Zoe's mother is _part_ of the criminal element (and wouldn't that make sense, it's not like Deadshot, the highly requested and noted mercenary would care if the mother of his child worked as a henchwoman, or a mob accountant, or a drug dealer, or any other things that _normal_ people would turn their noses at).

Or maybe she isn't, she simply lives in Gotham because it is her home (few people understand Gotham's magnetism, in the same way they can't explain why their families have lived for generations and generations in Metropolis, or Portland, or Michigan).

And then one day - or night - Zoe is ushered into the GCPD, the one thing no child wants to happen to them. It strangely reminiscent of another young child, but different in so many ways. No butler, no network of grieving attorneys or bank managers. No (or perhaps there was) image of their parent's death embellished into the mind of a child. Maybe she witnessed her mother's death. Or her mother was arrested. Perhaps she simply lost custody - either because she was unfit or someone high up and corrupt decided to punish her. It wouldn't matter in the end, because it's never really the journey - or the path - but the conclusion. And the conclusion is that an paper pusher looked up Zoe's mother's file and found that she had a young daughter, who now was alone. A father in prison, a mother who was gone (dead, arrested, barred rights) from her life.

Where do orphaned children go? In the United States of America that is a simple answer, they go into the system, and then onwards. Except Gotham. Notoriously corrupt Gotham, where the mayor is likely to be as paid off as the average newsboy. No matter what Batman does in the night, no matter how many politicians he discovers and passes onto the Police Commissioner there will always be gaps. Gotham was built on the back of criminals, and there will always be spaces for them to fit snugly into a law-abiding society. So in Gotham the system could be very different. It certainly has the _potential_ to be very different, Zoe could have been sent into a state-run orphanage, somewhere that is as dreary and cold as it was in the 1940s, where Zoe's carefully packed bag of textbooks - she _is_ on the honor roll - and clothes and her beautiful teddy bear given to her by her grandma is taken from her on entry (perhaps later she sees a toddler playing with her once loved toy, and delays her reaction to snatch it back, because that child _shouldn't be here_ in this dreary place, should be with loving parents, somewhere sunny and warm and happy). This place is hollow and sad and something Zoe has never known before. Somewhere where she cannot send letters to her father or mother and somewhere she doesn't want to be.

Or not. Maybe Gotham's orphanage system received donations from another high profile orphan who brought the state-care system up to date. Maybe Zoe is sent into a foster home with boys and girls who smiled when she met them and helped her get through this sudden change. Her teddy bear is something she clutches to her chest every night, never knowing what it is like to sleep without it. The caretakers are not corrupt, and instead are an older couple whose children are older and married, the grandmotherly figure brings Zoe warm milk when she stays up to study and chides her about appropriate bedtimes - but only quietly because she now knows how to care for children who have lost family - before helping her with a physics problem (or biology or literature or economics or history) she stayed up to do.

\- Or perhaps somewhere in between, where what should have been a homely house is empty and distant. Where she is given a budget to use over the week, and is seen not as a child but a job. The other children share camaraderie with her, but they all know this isn't _home_ instead waiting and waiting until they can leave and never come back again. She doesn't lose her teddy, but she has to be careful with her notebooks and pens, she now carries a small book with her counting how much she spent on lunch and if she can afford to buy the postage and worrying in a way a twelve year old should not worry.

After all, Gotham is not a city of gargantuan statues and costumed freaks, it is a rumbling dark city of hidden dangers and wonders, somewhere a normal person can be swallowed up in a crowd of other normal people. In this version of Gotham the cruelties are frozen in bone-deep, but the skin is a pleasant warmth at first touch. -

She might have had someone to go to. Godparents, aunts, uncles, grandparents … but that would take a while to contact, messages to be sent out, she would have still gone _there_. A place in between now, rather than an end, but still a place. She might have gone there is higher spirits, but she still went.

And so one night she sat - in her room, in a kitchen, on the floor of a living room - drinking milk and going over some problems in a workbook (something she fought for? Brought with her? Paid for with her new pocket money?). Perhaps she has a small teddy bear watching her as she works. Perhaps not.

And then … enter the parallel.

After the events of the Enchantress and the Battle of Midway City Harley Quinn tells the Joker everything. This is not something to be debated. In a world so unlike this one, where Harley's legs and face and heart have been broken by her love again _and again_ _ **and again**_ there is debate. But in this world she is something, someone else. And so is he. Instead of breaking into arkham and saving him, he created her for himself. He romanced her, tortured her, drove her mad and then in a final laugh let her kill herself for him. But then he stopped and turned and _dove_.

And Harley? She was different. But I do not know how. Maybe she was smarter? Instead of being the innocent Persephone who was taken by the monstrous Hades, and then kept because of her own mistake. Instead she grasps the offered - offered, not secreted or lied about, but handed to with all the knowledge along with it - pomegranate and with eyes full of knowledge _bit_ down and finished the entire fruit, devouring her imprisonment and escape. Or maybe she was innocent, innocent and _in love_ , until he asked for a machine gun. Maybe she paced her office for days thinking what would happen if she gave in. He would kill people. Her co-workers. Friends. Would he kill her? It would has disturbed her to know that she did not mind the thought, she could die as she now lived; for him. And then she snuck it in, knowing what could happen, and still willing to do it.

Yes. This Harley was _very_ different.

So no, there is no debate. This Harley reworked herself around this Joker, and this Joker has _kept_ her for so long that - like in all relationships - he has started to rework himself as well. The only question is how long? Did she tell him of her fantasy after their first celebration that the Clown King of Crime had his Queen back? During it? Maybe days after they sat together and she told him quietly, in hushed words. Or perhaps she giggled and laughed about it and they sat together thinking about how **odd** it would be for them to play house. Maybe they shouted and screamed at each other over some detail or other (he insulted the idea of him being in a suit and tie. Or did she insult the idea of her being a mother? Did they defend the other from their own harsh remarks?) of what was a fantasy but now seemed to be a possible reality.

Harley Quinn, a mother.

The Joker, a father.

Them, parents.

It was both laughable, but also something they would easily shoot a henchman over laughing about.

And so the idea was born. The thought of the babies in the original dream could have intrigued them. A new soul to be born from their own mistakes, already a part of their genetic being. Maybe they went to some unfortunate doctor to see if they _could_ (and then the results were bad, something about their change … about the chemicals in their systems. Did they breathe a sigh of relief? Did they rage, destroying the doctor's office and killing the doctor in the process? Or perhaps something worse happened, a quiet fury at themselves, at the world, at the way things were. When they returned to their headquarters did Harley - or maybe Joker - shut themselves away, and only came out after reapplying their warpaint?) and then wondered if they wanted to (because the results were fine, and they _could_ but _would_ they? Did they want this? Did the other one want this? Would they have to say yes to the other even if they didn't want this? Was there a fight? Did Harley stay with Ivy, or did Joker stay with some poor gang leader? Did they have a calm conversation where one said _I want_ and the other said _I don't_?).

But somehow, in the end, they agreed that they better start _easy_ , babies cry _**so much**_ , and they decided together that they couldn't do it, in the end. Perhaps for the child's safety? Imagine having your partner tell you that they couldn't deal with a baby because they wouldn't remember it was there? Or hoist it off to some unlucky minion to deal with? Maybe even kill the child if it got too much on their nerves? Imagine Harley's fondness for hammers and bats and Joker's fondness for guns and acid. Imagine them smiling and shaking their head 'no' and thinking up other options. So they went for something easier.

(Or maybe they agreed to have a of their own baby but first they needed _practice_. If it wasn't their child it would be okay to damage it slightly, get all their aggression out before the _real child_ came. They could go slowly, starting with older children and then moving down, so they learnt in reverse, and then by the end of it they could be perfect parents. Harley Quinn and the Joker are bad people. This must be remembered. They're murderers and both kill for fun. One child would not matter to a man whose' counterpart planned to bomb a city.)

They would need a child who wasn't a _child_ , they needed to be young enough to mold - so not a teenager - but not so young that they would still have to go to school - could you imagine parent teacher conferences? (and they did imagine, and very nearly chose a child for that reason) - for basic education. Teaching a kid to read and write wasn't on the top of either of their lists of what _domesticity_ meant. Harley pictured early mornings where she fed the child and kissed Joker. Joker imagined awkward family dinners and surly family photos sent to relatives at christmas. They had plans, most not fully formed, but first they had to acquire a child.

And so they use their crime-family like group of thugs, henchmen, protection rackets, and suppliers to gain them access to Gotham's orphaned children. Another set of divergences. Do they choose one house to break into? Or do they find one file in particular? Do they actually choose Zoe's file, or maybe another child who shares a home with her? Is Zoe listed as Zoe Lawton - causing Harley to mutter about her friend and Joker to smirk, ever so slightly - or is she listed under her unnamed mother's last name? Do they skip over this entire process and instead google the first orphanage in Gotham and hit it that night (day)? Or do they spend _weeks_ or _months_ researching which child to take and where they are before finally moving-in to strike in perfect co-ordination?

(Which is then quickly broken?)

And now … now these two parallels intersect.

Because Zoe is in the kitchen - or living room, or her room - when Harley and Joker - or maybe just Joker, or just Harley - enter and see her.

(She hid when she heard heavy footsteps up the stairs of the orphanage. She hid when she heard the back door slide open, even though she saw it locked. She hid when she heard the smash of glass from a window.)

And then they decide she is coming home with them (maybe they line up the rest of the children, shoving away those they deem as 'not being good enough'. Maybe she is secreted out of her room in the dead of night, only knowing what happens when she is in a van and Harley - or Joker - is stroking her back. Maybe she waits in the orphanage's kitchen with Joker while Harley - or vice versa - skips off to the office to steal her file.). But in the end their choice is final and absolute.

(A small side note; a twelve year old would not reach out her hand in acceptance - not to _them_ \- but she wouldn't say no either - _not to them_. This is not a fairytale. No matter how awful a child's life was, they knew who were the heroes and who were the villains. And they knew what happened to who followed the villains. Batman was the hero of the city, and the city's children.)

And there begins our story (and is the end of the separation between I and me and we and us).

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...

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Somewhere far away Floyd Lawton learns that his daughter has disappeared.


End file.
